Many professional speakers sign up for this service, which includes a 4-way Yearbook of Experts listing [in print, on-line, via LexisNexis and pushed to search engines], the ability to send out up to 52 new releases out through News Release Wire, the Power Media BlueBook and CD-ROM, profile for a year at ExpertClick, and promotion through their Search Engine Elevator service.

At $795 [before March 1, 2007] to get in, pricing is very reasonable. When you consider that’s about $15/press release, it’s an absolute bargain. And, you can post video to your profile.

Many professional speakers sign up for this service, which includes a 4-way Yearbook of Experts listing [in print, on-line, via LexisNexis and pushed to search engines], the ability to send out up to 52 new releases out through News Release Wire, the Power Media BlueBook and CD-ROM, profile for a year at ExpertClick, and promotion through their Search Engine Elevator service.

At $795 [before March 1, 2007] to get in, pricing is very reasonable. When you consider that’s about $15/press release, it’s an absolute bargain. And, you can post video to your profile.

Planning an event in the future? Before you write up another “just the facts” press release for your local paper [or an online audience], here’s some news for you. Events, especially benefits, can be b-o-r-i-n-g. Try taking these three steps and propel your event coverage beyond a calendar item into a full-page feature. Keep in mind, calendar item mentions are still desirable, especially in larger publications that may only offer this coverage option.

Three Steps from a Calendar Item to a Full-Page Feature

1. Sharpen Your Angle
What is the most newsworthy aspect about your event? Hint: it’s usually not the speaker line-up. Instead, focus on how your event solves problems, entertains, changes thinking or teaches something. Don’t make the reporter dig for the angle. Show it to them right up front in your headline and lead-in paragraph.

2. Strip Out the Details
When any cast of characters competes for attention, it’s hard to see who’s playing the lead. If you overload your release with too many details, the real story will be blurred or maybe even buried. Transfer the details into an event overview section. Then, link to a newsroom site or blog with speaker bios and images.

3. Quiz the Editor
Before you send out an event release, quiz the editors on what makes your event interesting to them. After walking the editor through the details, ask for their opinion on a few possible story angles. Send an email follow up with a release within a few hours after your call. Using their input, your once ho-hum release becomes the basis for their sizzling feature story.

Planning an event in the future? Before you write up another “just the facts” press release for your local paper [or an online audience], here’s some news for you. Events, especially benefits, can be b-o-r-i-n-g. Try taking these three steps and propel your event coverage beyond a calendar item into a full-page feature. Keep in mind, calendar item mentions are still desirable, especially in larger publications that may only offer this coverage option.

Three Steps from a Calendar Item to a Full-Page Feature

1. Sharpen Your Angle
What is the most newsworthy aspect about your event? Hint: it’s usually not the speaker line-up. Instead, focus on how your event solves problems, entertains, changes thinking or teaches something. Don’t make the reporter dig for the angle. Show it to them right up front in your headline and lead-in paragraph.

2. Strip Out the Details
When any cast of characters competes for attention, it’s hard to see who’s playing the lead. If you overload your release with too many details, the real story will be blurred or maybe even buried. Transfer the details into an event overview section. Then, link to a newsroom site or blog with speaker bios and images.

3. Quiz the Editor
Before you send out an event release, quiz the editors on what makes your event interesting to them. After walking the editor through the details, ask for their opinion on a few possible story angles. Send an email follow up with a release within a few hours after your call. Using their input, your once ho-hum release becomes the basis for their sizzling feature story.

Last Saturday, a mystery caller left messages at my office and on my cell phone. She was trying to track me down to thank me for an article. I returned her call, but haven’t heard back. So, I don’t know which one she liked.

Reader feedback keeps you going and on track. Posting to a blog with viewer stats gives you clues to “best-selling” articles in real time. WordPress’ dashboard reports stats on referrers, number of views and click-throughs.

Here’s a list of search engine terms people used to find Wired PR Works yesterday. . .

Click on the image to enlarge it. A week’s worth of search engine terms follows at the end of the article – no numbers, just terms.

Here’s how you can profit from your blog’s search term statistics . . .

Last Saturday, a mystery caller left messages at my office and on my cell phone. She was trying to track me down to thank me for an article. I returned her call, but haven’t heard back. So, I don’t know which one she liked.

Reader feedback keeps you going and on track. Posting to a blog with viewer stats gives you clues to “best-selling” articles in real time. WordPress’ dashboard reports stats on referrers, number of views and click-throughs.

Here’s a list of search engine terms people used to find Wired PR Works yesterday. . .

Click on the image to enlarge it. A week’s worth of search engine terms follows at the end of the article – no numbers, just terms.

Here’s how you can profit from your blog’s search term statistics . . .

PR Takeaways is an occasional series that points out what I like about a campaign, company or in this case, a newsroom for a trio called the Dixie Chicks. FYI, this is my second post that mentions the Dixie Chick and PR – the first is filed under PR Lesson: How to Get Famous.

To get to the pure PR takeaways, scroll past the personal stuff.

Here’s the story of how the Dixie Chicks came into my life . . .

A few years ago, I went to the libray to check out some summer songs for a road trip to Wisconsin with my 14 year old daughter. Somehow the Dixie Chicks’ Fly topped my check out stack.

Goodbye Earl turned out to be the perfect tonic on a hot summer day for two young girls too tuckered out to pick any more blueberries. Bareboot and blistered from the sun, the two blondies sat in the car with the Dixie Chick’s blaring over the bushes. By the time the moms finished picking the berries, they girls had memorized a few songs.

When we stopped for lunch later inside a cool roadhouse, the girls stayed outside and set up a picnic in a shady spot. By the time we finished lunch, the girls had tracked the album and a new groove of friendship was formed.

Whenever we wanted to remember that afternoon, my daughter and I would pop in Fly and blast it – preferably on an open country road with the windows down as the crows and cows rolled by. At the time, the mother in me didn’t really take to the term “chick” for my daughter – now it’s an honorable designation.

PR Takeaways

Here’s what I love about the Dixie Chicks’ public relations:

– take a stand and stand by it – controversy worked for them and it can work for you, if you’re passionate about what you believe in. Not convinced? Read the New York Times coverage that includes this clip: “But even without support from country music’s traditional institutions, the album became something of a hit. ‘Taking the Long Way,’ bolstered by brisk sales at Starbucks, Amazon and other less traditional outlets, has sold almost 1.9 million copies, and ranked as one of the year’s 10 best sellers.”

– hire or assign someone to blog about your stage shows or events where you interact with the public – this could be your brick-and-mortar store

– show cute pictures of kids on your blog – everybody’s got ’em, might as well show ’em off

– post latest headlines on your home page, by the way here’s the latest:

UNBELIEVABLE NIGHT! Dixie Chicks went five for five at the 29th Annual Grammy Awards on Feb 11 winning the big three general categories: Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Song of the Year, as well as Best Country Album and Best Country Performance By a Duo or Group. Last minute TV note: On the day after their Grammy sweep, VH1 has decided to re-air Dixie Chicks’ Storytellers at 3pm eastern/pacific (Mon Feb 12.)

CMT has announced that the Dixie Chicks’ “Not Ready to Make Nice” video is a first round nominee in three categories for the upcoming 2007 CMT Music Awards: Video of the Year, Group Video of the Year, and Video Director of the Year (Sophie Muller). Fan voting to narrow the eight initial nominees in each category down to the final four nominees takes place through Feb 23rd . You can vote HERE.

– track by track comments and label copy give the media ready access to quotes and statistics – what was going on in your mind when you launched that big project and who would you like to thank? All too often, creative projects and even products get presented with a bare minimum of personality and personal insights. Letting people in our your internal conversations and creative process brings the relationship closer.

– notes & quotes is a great mix of testimonials, reviews and comments that profiles the Dixie Chicks as professional musicians making an impact; brief historical markers note the timelines

My suggestions:

– take off the charity and interview links until they’re ready to go live

– copy the latest headlines into the newsroom site so that the releases run on a continuum

– find a band, artist, brand, movie or TV show that you love and become one of their followers. Observe how you connect with them and why – note common intersections and test out similar ways to connect with your audience through your own public relations channels.

When I interviewed Al Launtenslager for Ultimate PR Secrets, one of his “secrets” was this: go to the USA TODAY site and join the USA TODAY’s Entrepreneurs Panel Al said adding his membership gave him credibility with the media – that was before he co-authored “Guerrilla Marketing in 30 Days.”

When I interviewed Al Launtenslager for Ultimate PR Secrets, one of his “secrets” was this: go to the USA TODAY site and join the USA TODAY’s Entrepreneurs Panel Al said adding his membership gave him credibility with the media – that was before he co-authored “Guerrilla Marketing in 30 Days.”

Click on the image to read today’s PR Web reports for our Ultimate PR Secrets press release. PR Web’s report contains some valuable information – like the top search engine terms used to find this release.

You, too, can get a report like this for every PR Web press release you send out. But, first you’ll need to invest $200 in the distribution and reporting features, both features you won’t get with a free service.

Here’s how I interpret the report:

– number of reads, 79,699, an estimate of the number of screens where the release appeared – this doesn’t mean any of the browers actually stopped to read it. Snaring a skimmer’s attention with a catchy or controversial headline contributes to a higher pick-up rate . . .

– the estimated pick -up for this one, 1197, gives me an idea of how many outlets covered this story. To get a reality check on the numbers, I set up a Google Alert with the headline and I search multiple ways to see where the release landed. When a find the release posted somewhere, I immediately contact the blogger or website contact to thank them. Google Alerts report back to me whenever the story is picked up. Many of the “outlets” are pseudo-news sites set up on Ad Sense templates.

– prints – only 6 readers printed out the story

– pdf downloads – 53 people downloaded the release – many Internet PR pros say this is the only statistic that matters

Overall, here’s how our PR Web results stack up in terms of average results:

– estimated pick up ranges from a low of 1.5% of reads to a high of 7.6%

– .pdf downloads range from .01% to almost 1%

– number of site visits averages about 1.5% of total reads, depending on the release and the call to action

Keeping in mind this release went out just about a month ago and comparing it to trends from our other PR Web releases, I expect the number of views to top 100,000 by April.